


Stole your heart! (No I will NOT return it.)

by IWantToRemainASecret



Series: Skephalo Stories [1]
Category: Badboyhalo, Skeppy, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cops, Alternate Universe - Thieves, M/M, No beta we die like red skeppy, george is a cop, long-ish, minecraft youtubers - Freeform, theif au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29057769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWantToRemainASecret/pseuds/IWantToRemainASecret
Summary: Welcome to my story! I did this ages ago and am just posting it all now because I wanted to get it out of my word doc lol. Hope you enjoy it! Comments are always welcomed :D(If Vurb sounds off at times it's because he was originally A6d, since Skeppy and him aren't friends anymore I switched him out with Vurb.)
Relationships: Skeppy/Badboyhalo
Series: Skephalo Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2207490
Comments: 11
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my story! I did this ages ago and am just posting it all now because I wanted to get it out of my word doc lol. Hope you enjoy it! Comments are always welcomed :D
> 
> (If Vurb sounds off at times it's because he was originally A6d, since Skeppy and him aren't friends anymore I switched him out with Vurb.)

Vurb took a sip of his soda and typed quickly along his keyboard, the sound being mutely picked up by the person on the other end of his call.

"Well?" The shrill voice asked, sounding a tad impatient.

"Give me a second!" Vurb growled, he started breaking through the firewalls protecting the museums security, he smirked proudly as he accessed the security cameras and wiped them out. "Done."

"Awesome." His partner in crime whispered in response, the sound of fabric rustling in the wind was heard, Vurb could only presume he had jumped into the museum from the skylight.

Skeppy, world-famous thief, loved and hated by many. The boy in blue, the annoying brat, the diamond dickhead, whatever you called him one fact only stood out: he was good at what he did. Skeppy was known for robbing museums, taking prizes of diamonds, gems, trinkets, you name it, before running off into the night with the loot, grinning ear to ear.

He was also known to have the most annoying voice ever, thanks to his delightful voice changer mask. The boy in blue wore a blue hoodie in all his crimes, his logo on the hood, a mask over his mouth which doubled as a voice changer, the same goofy smile printed on that, and always some form of blue jeans... sometimes with Minecraft diamond kneepads??? Despite such an obvious look, with the help of his hacker teammate, known only as Vurb, no one could rival the diamond duo-

Skeppy landed lightly on the floor, he stretched and looked around with cunning eyes before halting at the sound of a familiar boot. "Skeppy? Seriously?" Enter, badboyhalo... Skeppy turned and smiled sheepishly at the slightly taller boy before him. A mask covering his mouth also, slightly lowering his voice, that didn't stop his distinct catchphrases to leak out though...

"Oh my goodness." The boy grumbled, rubbing his forehead with his fingers, brown curls just peeking out from beneath his black and red hood. "Didn't you rob his museum last month? Can't you give them like, a second to recover?"  
Bad's hands landed on his hips, bringing attention to his looping belt of tools from his shoulder to hip, and his black gloved hands. His attire was completely black and red, yet he pulled it off. Though, his big boots were always familiar when they clunked along the floor...

"No can do bad, I've got a quota to reach." Skeppy giggled, enjoying watching his rival fume.

Badboyhalo was well... an interesting case. Believe it or not the "halo" didn't always exist in his title, for a long while the man was simply a gambler, addicted to winning higher and higher scores. Of course, one day he was deeply in debt to another gambler, but he promised to bring something worth the man’s wild and win his money back. What did he bring?

A whole ass fucking painting from an art gallery.  
You get why he was called a "badboy"?

Oddly, after winning his money back, the man RETURNED the stolen prize, added "halo" to his name. But soon the man was not only addicted to gambling but addicted to the thrill of thievery.

"Listen Skeppy, I don't want any trouble this time round, I'm just going to return my loot and be on my way. And I SWEAR, if you remove my note again, I am" He pinches his fingers together, "this close to wiping you out." Glaring at Skeppy he turned on his heel, sauntering away, "Dream? Map." He muttered, his tech guy following through.

"Dammit!" Vurb shouted through Skeppy's mic, making him wince. "No wonder the security was so easy to crack, that ass Dream was helping me throughout the break without my knowledge..."

"Well, that's good for us still." Skeppy smirked, rushing towards the gems exhibit. He skidded on his feet as he noticed Bad gently placing a diamond into the display case, a note being left on it. Skeppy's eyes shimmered brightly, because woah, that diamond was beautiful.

He slipped under the display case and watched bad look walk out... beatboxing. Eh, it was like, 2:20am, that was normal. He crawled out and stared at the freshly returned diamond.

'Sorry I took your diamond, here is it back as I won my bet, thanks! -badboyhalo' Skeppy bounced on his feet as he pulled out a sticky note, grabbed the diamond and wrote a note to go under Bad’s.  
'Lmao I stole it again, badboyhalo is a potato -Skeppy'

Stashing the diamond under his arm he started running for the exit, knowing that Dream would most likely turn the cameras back on as soon as bbh got out of the building.

"Bad is at the exit." Vurb whispered quickly, Skeppy cursed under his breath, spotting Bad as he grappled to the skylight.

"GOING UP?" Skeppy shouted, grabbing onto his waist as he clicked to recoil, Bad squeaked in surprise as the pair went flying upright, landing clumsily on the roof.

"Skeppy! You muffin!" Bad hissed through his teeth, the alarm blaring as the two made heavy impact with the glass skylight.

"Whoops!" He cackled, stomping off the roof, leaving bad paranoid as he took careful steps to avoid breaking the fragile glass.

"You're the worst!" Bad yelled, Skeppy briefing turned around, looking near tears. "Oh my goodness, no Skeppy I'm sorry-" Skeppy lit up again and laughed.

"Thanks for the diamond!" He shouted as he waved. Bad's eyes lit up and he growled with frustration as he ran the opposite direction.


	2. Chapter 2

Zak Carder walked calmly into a coffee shop across from the museum, sitting at an already occupied table with a particular toe-loving man. The man flipped through the newspaper with an emotionless expression.

"Well Arran, any deets?" Zak smiled, a hint of mischief in his tone.

"If the police tape and detectives outside of the museum isn't enough." Arran jutted a thumb out the window, pointing to exactly that. The outside of the museum was surrounded by curious citizens and multiple police officers.

"Hmm, we ought to check it out I say." Zak smirked.

"Yeah sure, return to the scene of the crime, not like that isn't a commonly known fact about criminals." Arran chuckled, dropping the paper, and looking equally curious about the idea.

"Come on, it will be fun!" Zak pleaded, Arran laughed at his attempts and stood up, the two of them crossing the street. The museum loomed over the pair as they stared it down, through the large open doors shattered glass could be seen on the floor. Zak winced, glad he made it off before it fell.

"Excuse me?" A police officer with bright green eyes and light brown hair waved them over.

Zak and Arran eyed each other with a gulp before approaching them. "What's going on officer?" Zak asked with an innocent smile.

"I have to question any witnesses at the crime scene, sorry, hope this isn't a bother." The man smiled politely.

"Oh, not at all!" Arran pitched in, afraid being too silent would be suspicious.

"What are your names?" The officer flipped a notebook.

"Zak, this is Arran." Zak introduced them with a smile. "And how about you?" He winked, hoping to distract the officer from their job.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm such a muffin! Right, sorry, Officer Nov-"

Zak blinked as they strung together some vowels, he didn't even know could be together.

"Oh uh, just call me Darryl..." He rubbed their neck sheepishly.

"Nice to meet you Darryl, you get cases like this often?" Zak asked.

"All the time, thanks to that 'Skeppy' guy." They rolled their eyes with annoyance.

"Oh, was this him again?" Arran feigned surprise.

"I can't confirm anything with the public I'm afraid, but oh my goodness yes." They grumbled, writing in their notebook, "Why are you here this morning?"

"Went to have a coffee at our usual meet up spot, we like to catch up on weekends, and saw this commotion outside." Zak retold; Arran cashed him a wary glance.

"Hmm alright, I think that's all I need. Thank you! Have a great day!" The embodiment of sunshine waved and trotted off to question another random citizen.

The two boys stood next to each other frozen for a moment as their brains mentally buffered.

"That police officer is well-known thief badboyhalo." Zak whispered under his breath. Arran nodded and turned to him with a crazed expression.

"I was thinking the same thing! Who else says muffins and oh my goodness like that?!"

Zak watched 'Darryl' with awe and fascination, "But he's a cop. A COP ARRAN! How is he still in that position?!" He harshly whispered.

"I can run a background check on him, find out everything I can about him from his digital footprint." Arran suggested, his eyes shining much like a dramatic anime character.

"Yes, absolutely, do it. I need to confirm this is who we know it is." Zak muttered, tracing the cops outline with his eyes.

\---

Darryl got home with a tumble and trip as he clumsily opened his apartments door, pet his dog, and collapsed on his couch. He sighed loudly, flipping up his laptop screen and opening TeamSpeak with his friend, Clay.

"Hey Dream, any news?" He asked, noticing he was still in the room. He tossed his police cap across the room with a gruff grunt.

"Yeah. Just tonight someone looked into your personal police record." Dream responded belatedly.

Darryl's body waved wildly as he forced himself to a sitting position with confusion and fear, "WHAT?! Who?! Why?! Did you stop them?!" He asked in rapid fire, his shrill voice peaking.

"I couldn't stop them, that would make it way too suspicious if only your police file was encrypted." He explained, the sound of typing echoing through Darryl's home as he inwardly panicked at Dream's words. "On the plus side, I do think I know who it is, some hacker going by Vurb. Sound familiar?"

Darryl groaned and slumped into his couch. "Yes. That's Skeppy's tech guy, isn't it?" He dragged a hand over his face with exhaustion.

"Sure is. Seems like Skeppy may be following up a theory on who you are." Dream hummed.

"Why though?! Even if he figured it out what would he gain?! All he does is mess with me I'm no threat to his crimes!"

"You're a cop." Dream snorted.

"A dirty cop!" Darryl hissed between his teeth.

"And the only cop who has Skeppy's number~" He teased.

Darryl felt his face grow hotter and he pouted childishly as he folded his arms, "He gave me that number as a joke, I haven't even checked to see if it is his. Probably one of those prank call hotlines."

"Sure, sure. I'll try and find a way to follow what Vurb is doing, hopefully he is following multiple people and not just you. Did you do anything today that would have made them think you are who you are?" Dream asked, his voice making Darryl go cold.

"I was at the museum today. The one we broke into last night, I had to interview the surrounding public." He almost whispered.

"...Did you say anything a bit suspicious about the museum break in?"

"No! I just said it was probably Skeppy and how much of a muffin he is and stuff, I didn't say the confirmed police report-"

"Did you say muffin?" Dream cut him off, his voice sounding clearer and closer, almost like he sat up from previously being slumped.

"Uh... maybe?"

"Darryl. Skeppy may have been in that crowd. If you said muffin once? You're done for."

Darryl went pale.

\---

Clay heard shuffling and wild movement through his headset, he rose a brow curiously.

"Bad?" He asked curiously.

"If I know Skeppy then I KNOW he'd visit my address if he knew where I lived! So I'm hiding all my badboyhalo stuff!" Darryl explained, fear toning his voice.

Darryl grabbed his robbery outfit, running to his washing machine and stuffing it under the still damp clothes. Skeppy wouldn't check there, he's pretty sure he doesn't even know what a washing machine IS.

He opened his pantry and knew the muffins would be a dead giveaway. "Dream? Do I eat all the muffins or hide them in the compartment under my bed?" He called, his voice reaching the small lounge the laptop still perched on.

"Compartment. You'd explode." He responded.

Darryl nodded, grabbing all remaining things surrounding his secret identity, and shoving them in a crate under the floorboards beneath his bed. Safe, surely, he was safe. He did another scan of his house, wiped his browser history and shut his window.

Safe.

\---

"Heyoooo Vurb, where am I dropping and what do we know?" Zak laughed into his earpiece as he leapt onto the rooftops of buildings and vaulted across them with ease and delight.

"Ow- So loud, okay, I found out a lot. He has been a cop for five years, gotten a few medals or whatever, did acrobatics during high school and later pursued it outside of school as a hobby before dropping it. He taught special needs kids at school for one year. He was a professional knife thrower. He attends monthly volunteer meetings, helping in various ways, sometimes even baking for the homeless-"

"Yeah, yeah, he's a glorified hero. But is he BBH?" Sleepy grumbled, tired of hearing how good of a person he is.

"Well, he likes baking, does acrobatics, has access to police records and such? I'd say he has a few credibility’s for being Bad. But only one way to know for sure. His address is about a block from where you are." Vurb explained, slowly giving more direct directions...

Eventually, Skeppy arrived on a lovely roof to a cleaner apartment building then he was used to, he peaked his head to the balcony and window ledge below, the light still glowing from it. He crouched and waited, it flickered out. He let his feet gracefully land on the window ledge, choosing it as a safer point of entrance, looking in he simply saw a curtain.

He mentally cursed and ducked down to the balcony below, sliding against the railing in fear of the owner seeing him. He looked in through a small curtain gap, a small lounge, a front entrance door, and a wall which most likely led to a kitchen and further into the apartment.

Skeppy had to admit, the place had its charm. A police hat and jacket hung loosely on a coat rack, sneakers, boots and dress shoes placed neatly in a row below it. A table with medals and framed photos sat close by, practically shining with pride. Above it was a small flat screen tv, and across from it was a single couch with a coffee table in front. The wall behind the couch was littered with posters and photos, but the coffee table contained a slim laptop.

The lock pick slid into the sliding door lock easily, popping out only when the door was opened. Skeppy slid it back slowly, taking a tentative step into the wooden floored apartment, praying for floors that don't creak. When nothing happened, he stood in the central room. Basking in its lack of familiarity.

"Vurb I've never robbed anyone or anything like this before, what do I do?" He whispered to his mic.

"Check for any clues. Any technology?" He suggested.

Skeppy opened the laptop, a picture of a cute and round white dog appearing as the lock screen. He took a mental note on the dogs existence. He sighed quietly when it asked for a password.

"It's password-protected..." He grumbled. Before quickly added, "The laptop. That is, it has a dog as the lock screen." For context.

"A dog? BBH has a dog, doesn't he? Except he calls it a rat?" Vurb muttered.

Skeppy typed 'rat' and was pleasantly surprised to find it unlock. "Rat was it." He smirks.

"Awesome."

He opened his tabs, nothing, he checked his history, nothing. Must have cleared it. Well, not that unusual. Some people do that each night. He shrugged it off and went to clicking on files, even TeamSpeak. Only one person he had friended.

"He only has one dude on TeamSpeak, a user called 'Clay' ring any bells?"

Vurb could be heard typing but he sighed, "Nope. Are we following a dead lead Skeppy?" He asked.

"I mean his password being rat is a good lead but, I guess, it could be a fluke... maybe, but we have to find out."

"Do we though? Why does his identity even matter?” Vurb argued.

"We're in too deep now." Skeppy whispered, returning the laptop to how he found it and standing up, he wandered to a neat kitchen. Marble countertop, lemons in a bowl. Standard stuff. The pantry was barren of anything of interest. He walked through, found a boring bathroom and laundry room.

Okay, maybe this was a dumb idea. Skeppy begun to think. Till he saw something light up from inside the washing machine. He rose an eyebrow and approached it, the white shirts on the top of the damp clothes glowed and blinked. Skeppy was very confused, he pushed them back and found a mask.

Not just any mask. THE mask. THE mask that BBH WEARS!

He took a picture and sent it to Vurb as he spoke. "This dumbass left his mask in a pile of WET clothes!" He giggled.

"Oh my god. It's actually him." He chuckled lightly.

Skeppy dug a hand in the clothes and pulled out the belt he normally has holding his stuff. With a silent giggle he slipped it on and threw the hood on too. It was a little damp, but it was funny. He took a selfie and sent it to Arran with glee.

"Jesus Christ Zak, you look like a girlfriend trying on her boyfriend’s clothes." He laughed.

"Whatever." Skeppy pouted. "It's funny." Then he heard something drop.

He turned around and saw Darryl standing in the doorway, mouth agape, dog bowl on the floor, a small white dog ran through his legs and started jumping with excitement at Zak.

"Oh, hi buddy." Skeppy said sheepishly, crouching to pet the dog.

Darryl's face of shock twisted to rage in an instant. "Get out." He demanded, pointing to the exit.

"With pleasure!" Skeppy giggled, starting to walk past, he felt his hood be pulled and he jolted back, dumb smile still on his face despite the aggressive tug.

"My clothes." Darryl said through gritted teeth.

"Oh these are YOUR clothes? Sorry, I thought they belonged to a criminal, not a cop." He smirked.

Darryl's eye twitched, he tugged the belt and hoodie off harshly, leaving Skeppy spinning in place.

"Unlucky for you, I'm both. Get out Skeppy. You got what you came for." He hissed.

"So you KNEW I was coming?" He rose a brow.

"Weird jump to conclusions, but yes, didn't hide things well enough I suppose." He mumbled the last part, noticing his sparking mask.

Skeppy whistled at the electronic masks broken condition, "Yeah, didn't really think that through did ya?"

"Oh shut up, you muffin." Darryl sighed, surveying the damage and taking a mental note on what he needed to fix it. "Did you steal anything, you dirty thief?" He hissed; his head snapped quickly to meet Skeppy's eyes.

"Woah! You're a thief too man! And no I didn't steal anything." He scoffed and rolled his eyes, arms crossing protectively, hoping the stand showed power.

Darryl seemed to not be moved by the power pose, "Unlike you, I 'borrow' not steal. I always return what I take." He started shoving him out the doorway. "Get out. And tell Vurb to stay out of my records!" He almost shouted.

"How'd you know we were in them?" Skeppy smirked.

"I HAVE a tech guy too ya know!" He grumbled.

Skeppy thought a bit before raising a brow at Darryl, "Do you have ANY friends besides him?" Hoping to find out if Clay was possibly Dream.

"Of course, I do dummy. I have you." And with that he shoved Skeppy out onto the balcony, leaving him shell shocked by the statement.

The sliding door shut harshly behind him, despite it being clear it held no real barrier between Skeppy and Badboyhalo, Darryl nodded as if he had completed a great task and went back to bed.

Skeppy stood on the balcony, completely frozen, though he often joked and dramatically cried if bad didn't call him his friend... he didn't think he actually saw him as one. I mean, he just broke into his house for Pete’s sake.

"Earth to Skeppy?" Vurb said, for the third time.

"Oh, sorry Vurb." He mumbled, shaking his thoughts from his head and jumping away to get back home, Arran guiding him calmly, noticing the shift in his demeanor.

\----

"Dream." Darryl muttered, massaging his forehead as he opened his laptop and saw him answer his call.

"Yeah?"

"Is there a way for you to track down Skeppy, please? He found me." Darryl explained, weak from lack of sleep, his dog scampered to his couch and slid under his arm. He petted his dog and sighed.

"Well, do you remember anyone at the museum interrogating thing you said 'muffin' to?"

"No... I say that everywhere to everyone." He whimpered.

"Okay... How about voices?"

"Skeppy uses a voice changer too."

"Okay, Darryl you are literally a cop and detective? Solve the damn crime." Clay suggested with ease.

Darryl furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah... that's possible... yeah! I... I just need to follow the security cameras of where he goes after he robs places; make note of the general direction he heads to roughly estimate where he lives... and if that doesn't directly lead to him, I can attempt to go over the footage of our questioning outside the museum and adjust the voices of everyone to match his and see if it-"

Dream left the call, leaving bad to his ramblings and him to his slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Skeppy leaned forward in his desk, sighing dreamily as he re-watched footage of a badboyhalo break-in, he slipped into the view of the camera, looking around, eyes blinking brightly. He then leant against a glass case, cut a smooth circle, pulled out an artifact, and set the glass to the side. With smoothness only he could possess, he started to saunter away, hips swaying, his belt jostling as he walked.

"Ah! He's so terrible at being a thief sometimes and other times he does this?!" Skeppy gushes to himself, well aware this footage was wiped from the cameras, replaced with a looping still image of the artifact in its rightful place. Vurb was lucky enough to steal a copy of the footage before Dream removed it.

"Here, bad stole from here, you wanna break-in and blame it on him?" Vurb had offered. But at the time, Skeppy was preoccupied watching the footage over and over as the muffin rocked his style.

And here he was again, now knowing the face behind the mask, watching the footage. He didn't have many pics of comparison of bad, okay? Cut the guy some slack.

His phone lit up and buzzed, Zak glared at it like a cat that had swatted at him. Ruining his perfectly good night... Oh it was Arran.

"Yellow?" Zak answered smoothly.

"I just got a notification from one of my bots, it was set up to monitor Darryl's police files when we first assumed it was him. Seems he requested access to the camera footage of when he interviewed us at the museum. I think he's trying to figure out who you are." Arran explained coolly.

"That would take ages, he'd have to go through us all individually," Zak exclaimed, sitting up straighter.

"Exactly... would you like me to completely remove the camera footage before he can receive the files? Just to stump him more." Vurb offered, a smirk practically audible.

Zak tapped his chin, looked at his reflection and giggled. "Nah, leave it up, I have a way to make him discover me much faster."

"What?"

"Trust me... this will be SO much more rewarding." He laughed louder.

\----

It was early the next morning Darryl was expecting to receive the files he required, to sift through them and eventually discover Skeppy's identity. It would be a long day. He sighed as he started to make some morning coffee and fill Lucy's bowl (his dog... or rat as he calls her).

Then he noticed his phone lighting up, signaling a text. Odd. Did Dream text him? Spifey? George? Who was texting him this early, no one he knew was up-

The number was from "Skeppy???" The number he had given him ages ago that he presumed was a troll, and his phone told him it was it had sent a JPEG. Darryl prayed it wasn't a mistaken number dick pic... it had happened before. He winced and opened the message.

It was a single picture, obviously, a Snapchat that was saved and sent over. Darryl was so glad he hadn't taken a sip of his coffee yet.

The picture was of a tanned man, perfect eyebrows, dark brown fluffy hair, lying on a bed, a sky-blue hoodie on, tongue out and winking. The caption simply said: "If you wanted to know who I was, all you had to do was ask baby <3"  
He was the guy hanging out with the heavily accented man. Darryl scrambled to his work computer and opened his interview/questioning notes and found the one he was looking for.

'Zak and Arran. Claim to come each weekend to the cafe across the street to catch up. Evidence shows this is the first time they have come to that cafe. One attempted flirtation, seems suspicious.'

He really should have gone with his gut and just presumed they were them. He sent Dream the image, explaining what had happened.

"Well, he wasn't lying on his name, Zak Carder."

Bad texted him back.

B: Zak Carder. Oddly you were the most suspicious person I questioned.

Skeppy: Lmao thtss so fdnny baldy

B: Arran is Vurb, correct?

Skeppy: pft nah he's my irl friend

B: No, he's Vurb, the voices match.

Skeppy: You've heardhis voice?.?

B: Dream has talked to him before.

Skeppy: way to spoil the fun

B: Well, you do know I can have you arrested now?

Skeppy: and risk ur fine ass going to jail? X to doubt

Darryl found himself blushing and glaring at the screen.

B: Language! And I'll have u know u have no evidence against me

Skeppy: lmao ok baldy

B: I'm not bald, you've seen me.

Skeppy: It s a date of mind

Skeppy: State*

B: Whatever fatty

Skeppy: you've seen me too u know I'm fit as hell

B: it's a state of mind.

Skeppy: date*

Darryl pouted, finding himself smiling despite the odd conversation. Okay, maybe Skeppy was a little funny. But still, that shouldn't mean he shouldn't arrest him... then again, he is his friend. As odd as their relationship is...

Skeppy: u have snap?

B: Yes.

Skeppy: Streaks?

B: Sure

\----

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness-" Bad whispered as he ran down a pillar filled museum hall, he seriously needs to stop robbing museums, people are catching onto his MO.

Whirling around a corner he slapped his back against a wall and peeked out as he watched a few security guards skid to a halt as they entered the more open hall. He watched them point to different directions and nod.

Shit. One was heading this way. He ducked under some display cabinets and shuffled down the hall, pausing as he saw black shoes walk by him. He felt his mouth go dry in peril. This was the worst heist he had ever done; he hadn't even nabbed what he was after! This wasn't the usual thrill either, it was pure FEAR! Like a horror game where if you lose you go to PRISON! What's worse, his mask was still in need of repair, so he skipped out on wearing it this time...

As the feet finally started to move, he shimmed further out and spotted his savior. A cabinet, an old locker like cabinet, surely large enough to fit him. He fist-pumped silently and started edging towards it, watching the guard's feet still for a moment. He peeped his head out ever so slightly, the guy was on his PHONE?! Way to take your job seriously... Bad decided to pull an old trick he learnt from hitman. He grabbed a coin from his pocket.

Steadying his shaky hand, he aimed the coin behind him, and tossed it. The guard turned to it, but must have also played hitman because as soon as he noticed it was a coin, he ran the opposite way down the hall; he must have presumed Bad had thrown it from over there.

Bad silently shrugged, either way, the cabinet was open. He slipped out and rushed to it, he heard the guard returning and threw it open, jumping inside and locking it behind him.

He was about to let out a sigh of relief when he saw two eyes looking into his. He slammed his mouth shut and let out a muffled yelp, afraid to alert the guard. The eyes belonged to none other than Skeppy, whose mask was slightly pulled down from Bad’s harsh entrance to the cabinet.

His eyebrow rose and he chuckled mutely, "Hey." He whispered with a smug smile.

"Shh!" Bad whispered back, "What are you doing here?!" He said, equally quiet and mad.

"I wanted to see you." Skeppy pouted.

"Well now is not a good time!" Bad whispered back, trying to move his arms before noticing their positions in the cabinet had deemed his arms very stuck. "Oh my goodness, I can't move." He said, fear visible in his eyes.

"Relax, I'm sure we can figure this out." Skeppy giggled.

"Shh!" Bad whispered harshly, as he heard footsteps returning.

"What? All the guards are long gone by now!" Skeppy said, a bit louder. Bad desperately tried to move his arms to cover his blabbering mouth, but to no avail.

"Come on Bad, they're not gonna hear us-" But he was too loud for Bad’s liking. So he pushed his lips into Skeppy's whilst glaring at him. Skeppy's eyes widened in surprise, looking stunned. Bad tilted his head away.

"Keep quiet muffin!" He whispered, listening for the guards footsteps. For once, Skeppy nodded, his expression almost unreadable.

A few moments passed, when Bad heard his earphone finally speak.

"Okay, I'm safe to transmit in now, all guards have left your premise, if you're quick you can escape through the ventilation." Dream whispered.

Bad made a hum of acknowledgment. "Skeppy." He hissed, head still facing to the side as he tried his best to see the outside.

"Huh?" Skeppy uttered back.

"Dream says if we hurry, we can get out through the vents." He whispered.

"Oh, okay." Skeppy tried to shuffle his arms a bit, they only rose upward, he tapped Bad’s arm with his wiggling hand. "Uh, I appear to be a little stuck."

Bad started squirmed, Skeppy went a little red in the face but bad ignored it, he could dwell on the awkwardness of this later. He pushed his back against the cabinet and heard a 'click' his eyes lit up. "Skeppy, push me." He demanded. Skeppy looked wary but gripped his arms and pushed nether the less.

Bad heard the old cabinet creak, and the two came tumbling out, falling on top each other. Bad knew Dream was no doubt laughing as he watched through the cameras, so he winced from the impact, opened his eyes and saw a flustered Skeppy.

"Jesus..." Skeppy muttered.

Bad pushed him off and stood up, dusting himself off. "Come on, I'll lead us to the vents." He waved him over, Skeppy scrambled to stand.

"Uh! Okay!" He commented dumbly.

-

"HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA-"

"Stop. Laughing. Vurb." Skeppy hissed under his breath as he followed bad to the vents.

"HAHAHAHAA" Was the response he got.

"Shut up." Skeppy growled lowly.

"Oh my gOD that is hilarious! And now you're going to escape through the vents?! All you're gonna do is be staring at his-"

"I'm muting you." He snapped, turning his earphone off.

"Everything okay?" Bad asked, head still facing forward as he approached a vent and started grabbed tools off his belt.

"Yep, just Vurb being his usual annoying self..." Skeppy grumbled.

Bad quirked a lip up and chuckled, he opened the vent and poked his head in. "This leads to the bathrooms, which have a window to climb out of."

"Great!" Skeppy said, frowning at the thought of climbing through bathroom stench.

"You wanna go first, or should I?" Bad asked, finally facing him, Skeppy was almost relieved to see light blush dusting his perfect cheeks. Good, he wasn't the only one embarrassed.

Skeppy pretended to look bored, "Eh, you go, you know the way." He shrugged, slipping his hands in his hoodie pocket.

"Okay." Bad answered, sounding almost emotionless. Gee, was he that put off by the cabinet thing? Also why did he kiss him? Couldn't he have just knocked his head or something? Was he reading too much into that? Is it normal to kiss your bros?

Skeppy crawled in after Bad, shutting the vent behind him firmly as if they were never there. He crawled after him, trying to keep his eyes on the ground whilst also trying to make sure he wouldn't bump into him if Bad abruptly stopped.  
The two crawled in silence, only talking when Bad opened the vent to the bathroom and dropped down, offering to catch Skeppy.

He did. Skeppy was amazed by that.

"Annnddd we're home free!" Bad exclaimed, opening the window and crawling up, offering a hand and hoisting up Skeppy with zero show of pain in doing so. How was he so strong? Skeppy thought.

The two stood by the museum, looking around, both charting routes to go back to their home. Finally they looked back at each other and made eye contact, bad coughed awkwardly.

"Well uh, see you when I see you!" He waved, turning to leave.

"Uh, yeah! See you..." Skeppy's hand stopped mid wave as his mind slipped back to the kiss. He took a deep breath silently and turned around, he put up a confident facade and smirked to himself. "I hope you force me to shut up more often." He chuckled, he let his head tilt slightly to gauge Bad's reaction but frowned when he saw that he was already gone.

-

Bad had a hand over his mouth as he silently screamed at Skeppy's comment, his back up against a wall away from his sight that he had flung himself into.

Needless to say, he went home blushing.


	4. Chapter 4

You may be wondering, how did Skeppy and Badboyhalo have such... fame? Sure they were infamous for crimes and such, but why was it that some people didn't find them as much as a nuisance as they should be considered?

This was because they were online. A lot.

And a thief getting a verified twitter account is mildly hilarious and ridiculous enough to bring in curious souls.

With both parties having such brilliant coders or hackers or what not, no one could track them. And they were free to post willy-nilly. Some posts on Skeppy's account include:

A picture of Bad, facing away from Skeppy as he stood staring into a skylight at his break in point. With the caption. "Look at this dooddd"

A video of Bad yelling at Skeppy for posting a picture of him because the cops could track them down.

A video of multiple cop cars pulling up at the museum they were at and a defeated sigh heard off screen.

And many, many memes.

On badboyhalo's profile he talked a lot about his cute dog which he referred to as 'Rat' (no pictures provided, to the disappointment of everyone, including the cops.) And LOTS of tweets explaining how he only borrows items, never taking them forever.

There is only one form of media posted, and it was a video where the camera peaks over a wall, zooms in, and in the far distance behind another wall, a phone camera also pokes out. A silent "Son of a gun." Is whispered, and Skeppy is seen jumping out from behind the wall, a massive grin on his face.

The same video but from Skeppy's perspective was also posted on his twitter.

Ah, but tonight, Darryl wanted to do something never done before... by himself. Skeppy sometimes, for the thrill, would stream himself parkouring across building tops, laughing with glee. But Bad wanted to host a Q&A stream! As... ridiculous as that seems for a wanted thief.

He set up a corner in his room, completely blue sheets of fabric, shielding anything to give his location away. Dream set everything up so make sure he was impossible to locate, and he was good to go.

He posted a tweet to his followers.

"I'm doing a Q&A live stream; cops are welcome to join too! :D"

He went live and sat there, his gear on, his fixed mask back with voice changer applied and stared at the camera. The viewers started rolling in.

"Wow! There's a lot of you!" He giggled brightly. "Welcome! I know this is weird for me, because I could be possibly tracked down and arrested, but I assure you I'm safe!" He gave a thumbs up and smiled under his mask.

He skimmed the questions rolling in, "Why do you steal? I don't steal! I borrow!" He assured, before crossing his arms and scoffing. "Unlike that crook Skeppy, by the way if you don't see something, I took returned within a week then Skeppy outright stole it again from under my nose!" He explained.

"But to answer your question... I uh, it was a one-time thing that got really out of hand and I got... addicted to the thrill." He slumped, looking down. "Like, I don't WANT to go against the law! I just never have been this happy, just having fun and being a bit different. I know it's wrong and bad and everything. And I am sorry, but at this point I don't think I'd know what to do if I just stopped." He rubbed his neck and looked away. He didn't mention that he had a full-time job and how he would probably manage fine without this hobby. He just loved doing it.

He turned back to the questions. "Are you and Skeppy friends?" He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure. He gets in my way a lot but when he isn't trying to tick me off then yeah, I guess we are sort of unlikely friends." He shrugged.

"Is it an easy job? Well, it isn't a job I'd say, don't do what I do kids this is really dangerous and illegal stuff!" He shook his hands wildly, hoping to not encourage rowdy kids into the line of work he dropped himself into.

"Oh hey!" He exclaimed with a laugh, noticing a verified appearance of the police in his chat. "Everyone say hi to the police! Hi guys!" He smiled sweetly, his smile hidden but his eyes crinkling at the corners, even though his dark hood made his face literally impossible to see.

"I really wanna say great work you guys, you really help our city!" He clapped his hands excitedly, as he saw them comment. "Am I ever going to turn myself in- Pfft! No! I don't wanna go to jail!"

He jolted and froze as he heard a bang from his balcony. "Shh guys." He whispered. He listened closely before hearing a very loud-

"YOOOOOO BAD!"

He groaned. "Oh no." He muttered, he scooped up the camera and crawled forward under his bed. He stared at the chat and grumbled to himself in the darkness. "Does Skeppy know where I live- YES! He literally got his tech guy to stalk me or something! He just showed up in my house, uninvited, and hE WAS WEARING MY DISGUISE-" He covered his mouth as he heard laughter throughout his house.

He chat was littered with 'Can't believe these two oh my god.' 'Skeppy just dropped by???' And of course the cops were surely confused why a thieves tech guy could track him, but they couldn't.

"Okay guys... I need you to all be very quiet." He shushed the chat, (despite the fact they were unable to do anything other than write text messages) and listened closely, then he heard his OWN voice repeating the same words and he went pale. "Oh my goodness he is watching the stream." He dragged his hands over his face as he heard Skeppy's giggle getting closer.

"Sure am!" He yelled loudly.

Bad crawled closer to the camera and glared, it was the only time anyone had seen his face, well, it WAS shrouded in darkness and really only his eyes and eyebrows were visible, but a face is a face. "Skeppy get out of my house."

A few seconds later, "NOPE! I heard you were talking about me and decided to drop by!" He was in the bedroom now, Bad heard Skeppy's own voice echo from his phone. He covered his mouth and tried to find a way to mute his mic. Butttt, he felt a grab on his ankle, he let out a shrill scream and he was pulled out from his bed. He pouted behind his mask as Skeppy came into view of the camera, laughing childishly.

Thankfully the only thing the camera could see of his house was a framed newspaper on the wall, 'Diamond dickhead strikes again... to everyone's annoyance.'

Bad put the camera where it was originally but got up and argued with Skeppy off screen.

"What are you doing here?!" He hissed.

"It's weird hearing the distortion after all this time." Skeppy admitted, pointing to his mask.

Bad slapped a hand over Skeppy's masked mouth. "Sh!" He properly whispered. "Get out! I'm trying to do something new and interesting here!" Now he was definitely not quiet enough, the chat listened in curiously. God, imagine the subtitled videos~

"Can I at least join you? Pleaseeee?" He put his hands together and whined.

"Fine! Only for a bit though!" Bad sat down, leaving room for Skeppy who sat beside him with a grin poking out slightly from his mask, Bad pulled it more over Skeppy's mouth with an eye roll.

"So guys, Skeppy wanted to be involved. If you have any questions for the both of us, hit us with them!"

Skeppy looked delighted to be there and eagerly took the first questioned he saw. "What are your real names? That's hilarious. Mines Dia, which is where diamond comes from." He lied flawlessly.

Bad looked at him and rose a brow.

"Bad?" Skeppy urged.

"Uh... why would I tell them?" He chuckled.

"If you won't I will!" Skeppy grinned, "His name is hmm Harvey, Harvey Halo."

"Yuck! No I don't wanna be a Harvey, no offence to all Harvey's." he assured the chat.

Skeppy leant back, "Hmm, how about uh... Jared?"

Bad shook his head.

"You're right, none of them suit you." Skeppy sighed, he shrugged calmly. "Whatever. Anyway, those are our totally real names."

Bad moved on to the next one. "Are we dating? No." He said firmly. He refused to acknowledge how Skeppy gripped his heart dramatically and fanned himself.

"Do we plan our heists together? No. It's all by accident." Bad explains before he is cut off by Skeppy.

"Actually no, I ask my tech guy to keep tabs on where you go so, I can run into you."

Bad snaps his head around to him. "You what?"

"I rarely see you man!" He whines.

"You know you CAN stop by for dinner or something if you text first! You don't have to only see me on heists!" Bad says, looking a bit worried for his friend.

"Really?" Skeppy grinned.

"Yeah..." He looked away from Skeppy's eyes, afraid he'd get lost in them. He cleared his throat. "How many heists have we left before completing? A lot for me, if the cops show up, I leave almost instantaneously."

Skeppy started counting on his fingers. "I like to make my presence known and play cat and mouse with the guards so not often."

Bad shook his head and smiled fondly. "Who are your tech guys? I don't know who they are, I only know them through this." He gestured to his outfit. Skeppy looked curiously at Bad, he wondered if that was true.

"Skeppy? Your tech guy?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I only know them online. Became fast friends."

"Alright, I think we have answered enough questions... you wanna say bye to the stream Skeppy?" Bad asked kindly.

"Bye stream!" Skeppy cooed, winking and giggling brightly.

"Bye everyone!" Bad smiled, flicking it off and confirming it was over through a message from Dream. "I hope I didn't say anything major." Bad stressed.

"You didn't, don't worry." He waved him off and sat on his bed, Bad started to pack up his step up as Skeppy fiddled with his thumbs. "So um, did you mean that?"

"Mean what?" Bad asked, turning to face Skeppy, Skeppy decided he much preferred seeing his eyes then his mask and shadowed face.

"That we can just, hang out?" Skeppy finished, trying to fix his hair that wasn't even messy.

"Yeah, if you text beforehand we can hang out." Bad smiled, head tilting and eyes crinkling at the edges.

"Like... out of work?" Skeppy dared to ask, eyes looking at Bad directly.

Bad jolted only slightly before chuckling, "Oh, well I think it would be a bit suspicious to start hanging out with one of our major suspects as a cop." Bad explained. "You understand." He said, a hand waving loosely at Skeppy as he turned to continue taking down the blue sheets.

"Yeah." Skeppy muttered, dissatisfied with the answer and unwilling to comply. He started to brainstorm ways to find a loophole and be able to hang out with Bad out of work, but he heard a distant ringtone that caught both the men's attention.

Bad scooped the phone up and pulled off his mask and hood, Skeppy reveled in seeing his hair fall out messily and his glasses reflect the lights around him.

"Hello? Oh hey George." Bad turned away from Skeppy and continued talking. "Yeah, I saw it, anything you picked up that I failed to? Oh... yeah... was their face recognizable? Huh. True. Just a newspaper, right? Oh come on George, the color of a wall, really? Alright, you're the detective I'm just the interviewer guy. Zak?"

Skeppy perked up at his name and noticed Bad glance at him.

"No... I looked at the build of him and I don't think they match, I mean the outfit is very slim and he was wearing a hoodie, but it just didn't seem as plausible." Bad nodded and hummed a few times. "Okay, see you tomorrow and we'll compare." He hung up and practically melted against the wall.

"That was my cop friend, George, he was watching the stream and taking notes."

"OOF." Skeppy grinned, slipping his masks and hood off as well.

"Yeah." Darryl dragged a hand over his face and flopped backward onto his bed, Skeppy who remained on the bed bounced from the impact. "Oh my goodness, he's been to my home, he probably recognized the color of the walls or something for a brief second! Thank goodness I put that newspaper article up after he visited."

Skeppy glanced at the newspaper, he smirked, it was a picture of him leaping off a building gracefully whilst flipping off the camera, his eyes crinkling with glee. "Aww, you have a picture of me!" Skeppy teased. Darryl pouted and grumbled to himself in response.

"I just thought it was funny was all... calling you that..." He mumbled.

"Calling me what?" Skeppy smirked, wondering if the muffin loving man could even say the word 'dick' let alone 'dickhead'.

"Diamond... you-know-what-head." Ah, so he couldn't, Skeppy concluded.

"You can say dick you know." Zak leant on his fist, smiling down at the worried man beneath him. His eyes drifted across his body carelessly.

"It isn't proper." Darryl retorted, covering his face with an arm whilst sighing. "I should never have streamed."

"What? No that was fun!" Zak reassured; Darryl glared at him from under his arm.

"You always enjoys my torment." He hissed as a rebuttal.

"Not always no, besides," He tugged his arm away from his face and grinned at him, "I'd never enjoy you being thrown in prison."

Darryl scoffed at that and smiled lightly, "Liar."

"Okay maybe for like a day I'd enjoy it, but after that I'd break you out guarantee!" He winked for good measure and took pleasure in seeing Darryl blush ever so slightly as he sat up.

"Thank you Skeppy, I suppose I'd do the same for you also." He yawned loudly, which was Skeppy's queue to leave. He waved goodbye and yeeted out the balcony, excited for the growth of their relationship.


	5. Chapter 5

Badboyhalo was so frustrated. He was so pissed. He was so cheesed. He was.... angry.

"Why me? Why me? Why ME?" It seemed that he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop as police were hot on his heels, a helicopter watching him closely, but really, he was just stumbling from rooftop to rooftop and internally saying every swear he knew. He couldn't duck into a house without being found and couldn't lead them to his house without being screwed. So he kept running.

"Oh my goodness, LEAVE ME ALONE!" He shouted at the copter, clutching the stolen art piece to his chest, bubble wrap surrounded its form to keep it pristine. Though, to be fair, popping the bubble wrap is what got him into this mess. He scowled at the packaging material with vengeance.

-

Zak was lazing around on his couch, flicking through channels and enjoying how his skylight painted moonlit pictures on his marble flooring. His apartment was far more extravagant to Bad's, top floor, open layout, marble floors and countertop, black dining table and white chairs, but despite its clean and shiny look, it was very artificial. The only room truly representing him being the bedroom, which had a mess of trinkets and photos everywhere. But he wasn't in his bedroom, he was on his couch, flicking the channel over and noticing his good friend badboyhalo jump across a building’s roof that looked familiar.

With a jolt he ran to his balcony and threw the doors open, squinting his eyes he saw the helicopter and, mostly a dot at this point, Bad running his way. Zak grinned, he always loved the chance to see bad. He ran back inside and watched as he got closer, and closer, he grabbed a chair and flipped open his skylight. He waited, he waited...

A loud bang could be heard above him as Bad ran across his roof, with the agility of a cat swatting a fly, Zak reached out and grabbed Bad's leg, and pulled him into his home. He slammed the skylight shut as bad let out a yelp of pain.

-

Bad had been running, fear coating his mind, he spotted a balcony and considered dropping in, but he knew it would be far too easy to spot him. He needed to just... disappear, fall through the cracks of their vision, he needed to- He almost screamed when something yanked his entire body down by his leg, and he tumbled, scrambling to hold the art piece to his chest. He fell onto hard and cold floor, he looked up with a groan.

He met eyes with a smug as hell Skeppy, eyes crinkling at the corners as he watched him stare up at him like some god. He had just saved his skin, but Jesus he was never going to hear the end of this.

"Skeppy." He breathed, quickly and with confusion.

"Bad." His rival returned, hopping down from his chair and reaching a handout to help Bad up. He took it and held the painting closer to his chest.

"What are, what is-" Bad started, before he noticed Skeppy flop onto a couch behind him and unmute the television in front of him.

"The Chase seems to have ended as the thief badboyhalo went missing mid chase, detectives are going over the footage and trying to find the discrepancy-"

"I live here, also you're welcome." Skeppy smirked, eyeing Bad in a way that meant 'you owe me one'.

Bad let out a startled chuckle, "Y-You live here? Boy, I'm glad you do, I'd have been caught!"

Skeppy shrugged, smile set in stone on his face. "Yep, but thanks to me all you got is a bruised back and ego." He giggled that infuriating high giggle of his.

Bad rolled his eyes, clutching the artwork tighter, which caught Skeppy's attention, he rose a brow. "What did you steal?"

"Borrow-" Bad corrected, but his voice was cut off as Skeppy slid from his spot on the couch to within arm’s length of the artwork, he snatched it and surveyed it curiously.

"Looks like an oil painting through the bubble wrap, it worth much?" He asked, tosses it over his shoulder at Bad as he returned to the couch. Bad caught it with fear.

"Y-Yeah, it’s worth a bit." He responded, looking down slightly.

"Jesus Christ take off your mask already, I can't bear to hear your stupidly deepened voice anymore." Skeppy groaned, Bad felt his cheeks turn red and pulled his mask higher.

"W-Well doesn't matter if you don't like it, it's staying on. I need to get out of here and back home asap so-"

"Woah, woah, woah, you can't go home! The cops are still looking for you, just stay here tonight and leave in the morning." Skeppy suggested with a wave of his hand.

"Thanks for the offer but, I'd definitely not blend in with a crowd in broad daylight... plus I have work tomorrow." He checked his watch. "Or today." He muttered, noticing it was way past midnight.

Skeppy looked bad up and down, "You could blend in, just put your jacket and belt and mask and hood in a duffel bag and-" He paused as he noticed he wasn't wearing his normal black and red accented pants. He was wearing very tight black skinny jeans. "Oh. New pants. Those look normal enough."

Bad grumbled with annoyance. "I got mud on my main pants and had to wear my normal jeans instead."

Skeppy was WAY more determined to meet Bad in public if this is what his civilian getup often consisted of. "Mhmm." He said, eyeing his legs before glancing away. "You're a bit of a klutz."

"Am not! It was a faster way to get to my home and- oh forget it, I don't need to explain anything to you! Thanks for saving me, I know I owe you, but right now I'm leaving!" He turned on his heels and started storming to his balcony to leap off. Skeppy jolted upright and pulled him back by his hood.

Bad whirled to face him and glared.

God his eyes were like the leaves in a moonlit forest.

"You can borrow my clothes and uber to your home." He stated bluntly. Bad went bright red at the idea.

"W-What?! No!" He squeaked.

"Just borrow my duffel bag, stuff all the thief stuff in there, wear some of my stuff and uber out. No one will see you and you'll be back in your home in no time."

Bad bit his lip beneath his mask, considering his options. It certainly would get the cops off his back and make it an easy escape, plus he was a little tired and that wouldn't make him any more observant...

"Okay fine!" He caved, looking dejected and humiliated.

Skeppy beamed, "Awesome, I'll get you one of my hoodies and a shirt, your pants can stay on." He looked him up and down, making Bad pull his mask up further to hide his embarrassment.

He followed Skeppy as the younger man tossed him a duffel bag. Bad started putting his tools and the artwork in it, before adding his hooded jacket and awkwardly slipping his shirt in as well. His mask staying on his face as he awkwardly covered himself.

Skeppy returned, looked up from the items of clothing he held, stared a bit before giggling loudly. "Dude, the mask, take it off." He waved his hand and giggled more.

Bad clung to himself further. "Not until I'm all set to leave." He muttered.

Skeppy rolled his eyes and reached across, pulling it down his face, Bad yelped and tried to pull it up but the damage was done. Skeppy burst out laughing.

"You are BRIGHT RED DUDE!" He cackled, wishing he could take a picture of the adorably blushy man, and his very well-toned bod...

"Shush! J-Just give me some clothes!" He made grabby hands and Skeppy, still laughing, handed over the shirt and hoodie which Bad violently shoved on.

"Do you get embarrassed really easily or flustered really easily?" Skeppy smirked.

Bad didn't even want to acknowledge what he meant when he said flustered so he ignored him, calling an uber and swinging the duffel bag over his shoulder, mask finally slipping inside it.

Skeppy secretly took a picture of him in his clothes, no real reason.

"...Well, thanks Skeppy. I know I'll owe you something at some point, but still, thanks for looking out for me." He smiled that beautifully cute smile that left Skeppy reeling.

"Eh, no problem, besides, I'll be cashing that favor in real soon I'm sure." He slyly grinned, a plan having been hatching in his mind.

Bad groaned before chuckling, giving a simple wave as he saw him out the door, he entered the uber and was gone. Out of site, still in mind.

\----

"So, then my friend was just SCREAMING! And let me just say it is really hard to stay focused on being stealthy in that kind of game when someone is screaming and singing your name to freak you out!" George, Darryl's partner in law was explaining, retelling a fun experience playing Minecraft with his online friend.

"Is this the same friend who you sneak attacked last time you played the assassin game?" Darryl asked, walking along a sidewalk with his friend and coworker. He loved the moments he could spend casually hanging out outside of work, it was a rarity with his busy schedule these days.

"Yes! And you know, literally yesterday he gave me...." George looked around before giddily whispering to Darryl, "He gave me five, thousand dollars! To spend!" He was grinning now.

"Woah! What?! Is this guy like, your sugar daddy?" Darryl asked with a giggle.

"What! No!" George was red in the face, "H-He's just a good friend? And there was a catch! I had to spend it all at once... I bought an electric scooter."

"Good choice!" Darryl approved.

"And some basic hardware stuff, but what I'm saying is he is really cool! And I failed that assassin’s game, he can be really intimidating sometimes." He shrugged, not explaining further.

"He sounds really cool! I'm glad you made such a good friend online! Do you know what he does as a job to throw around that amount of money?"

George shrugged. "He said he does YouTube, wouldn't elaborate. Youtubers can be really rich though."

Just as Darryl was going to respond he was knocked a bit and found himself stumbling. "Sorry I wasn't watching where I was-" He froze as he stared into Skeppy's, Zak Carders, eyes, which shone with ill intent, in Darryl's opinion.

"Woah! Hey, I know you! You're that police officer!" Zak exclaimed with a grin; George rose a brow at Zak curiously.

"The... Robbery in the minerals and marvels museum?" George asked, looking suspicious.

Zak clicked his fingers. "That's the one! Say! You must be a cop too huh?"

George nodded, looking at Darryl who was shell-shocked by Zak's appearance.

Zak didn't seem fazed by his reaction and plowed on, "You guys get so much shit but I for one, love your work, really is honorable that you risk your life and stuff!" He leant towards Darryl, the slightest smirk on his lips. "Let’s see, your name was... Darryl? Right? With some really hard to pronounce last name?"

He nodded, glancing at George as if he would help him. Zak hummed to himself and looked him up and down before grinning again. "Yep! Just as hot as before!"

"Woah wha-" Darryl blurted with confusion before being cut off by Zak again.

"You're just my type, here's my number, you and your friend have fun now! Bye!" He scribbled onto some paper and slipped it into his palm before waving haphazardly to the duo as he left their sight.

Darryl blinked slowly, processors slow. "What... just happened?"

"One of our major suspects in a top case just flirted with you and gave you his number." George explained.

"Oh." Darryl muttered, turning his head to watch Zak walk away, he caught Zak smirking back at him as he disappeared around a corner. He prayed to every god that could possibly exist that he didn't catch how his cheeks burned.

Darryl was frozen for a moment or two, looking where Zak was and trying to string together a sentence, he would have to yell at him later, along the lines of "what were you thinking?" Or "you're an idiot" but with a lot more swear words (censored with 'muffins' probably) in between and with a whole lot more rage. But for now, he stood frozen, till George tapped his shoulder.

"So, what's his number?" He asked curiously.

Darryl stepped away from George and hunched over as he unfolded the paper and looked at its contents. 'You've already got my number babe ^*^, consider the favor cashed in. <3' he crumpled the paper and tore it to shreds.

"It's unimportant, he isn't my type anyway." Darryl muttered, continuing his walk, George stumbling to catch up.

"So... you wouldn't be caught dead meeting with him?" George asked, eyebrow raised.

"Mhmm." Darryl replied, confused with the sudden suspicion.

"Alright." George shrugged, before continuing his talk about his good online friend.

-

George stared at his computer screen, which held all the information about Zak Carder he could find. He was a major suspect for Skeppy's identity. He pressed play on a video and smirked to himself with disbelief.

It was a recording of just outside the entrance to Zak's apartment, a man in a blue hoodie is seen exiting, Zak giving him a small wave as he leant on the door frame. The other man waves back and turns towards the car that has pulled up.

George zooms in on the man’s face and stares into Darryl's digital eyes. He scoffs lightly.  
"Wouldn't be caught dead, eh?"


	6. Chapter 6

Darryl let out a tired breath of air through his mask as he slumped against a chimney, he cast his glance towards the vibrant city just a few blocks away from the apartment he had chosen to stop at. He enjoyed running across rooftops to clear his head, it was relaxing at the same time as invigorating, the freedom of flight across rooftops was so unreachable for a regular human. Yet he leapt across them like a bird, always trusting he would find his footing.

Dream was busy, with something, and Darryl had chosen to take a break and try to figure out what Skeppy wanted. His last run in with him was still fresh on his mind, its Cleary was on purpose, but why?  
It was perhaps his way of getting what Darryl owed him? He did say he'd be cashing in the favor soon, was it breaking the 'no meeting in public rule'?  
He was unsure of his motive.  
Maybe Skeppy wanted to be his friend, but it couldn't be that simple. Why would it be? Skeppy made everything difficult.

Bad was pulled out of his thought by the distinct noise of a trigger being pulled, being a police officer by day had one major perk, recognizing a threat and registering the noise of a GUN. He jolted to the side and heard a projectile go whizzing past him. He took a shaky breath and gulped air he was afraid to lose.

He stared at what was shot at him curiously, he looked to where it had been shot but saw nothing. Maybe they and left when they realized they had missed their mark? He approached the thing and stared. It wasn't a bullet wedged into the chimney he once rested on; it was a dart.

And from the smell, it was a... tranquilizer dart.

"Oh, my goODNESS!" Bad all but shouted, he grabbed the dart and put it into his hoodie, absolutely terrified on why someone wanted to put him to sleep. He turned and ran as fast as he could.

Get away, get away, DANGER! His mind screamed at him, he looked behind him and to his own horror he saw the silhouette of someone standing on the rooftop behind him, a coat of some kind waving in the wind.

Darryl's eyes widened and he ran faster as he heard the clunk of heavy boot chasing him. Oh goodness, he was being chased, he was being targeted oh my goodness oh my goodness-

He jumped from roof to roof and prayed the follower would stumble on each landing, they didn't falter once, in fact they only drew on Bad faster. Bad really wanted to call Dream right now, but he wasn't there. Oh my goodness he was completely alone, and someone was CHASING HIM!!!

He saw a huge drop below him and without thinking he took the leap, squatting his legs and preparing for a big impact; but he landed wrong. He felt a sharp pain in his left leg and let out a shout as he fell onto his side, he scrambled towards a brick wall in front of him, he could scale that, surely. He tried to get up as he crawled closer and felt his leg collapse under him. He hissed in pain. Dammit, had he broken something? He bit back tears as he clutched at the wall, trying his best to pull himself to a standing point, but falling each time. Every grasp grew more desperate.

He heard a loud clunk as someone fell behind him.

He whirled around and scrambled against the wall, whimpering in fear as the shadowed figure stood, tall and powerful.

"Hey now, stop struggling, you're only making this worse for you." The figure said.

The nonchalant voice made Darryl shiver in fear, he tried to place his attacker but felt his heart drop as he noted one feature about the silhouette that seemed out of place. Spiked on his head, shining beautiful, the only thing on him that was slightly catching light, was... a crown.

Only one person was ballsy enough to wear a goddamn crown, only one person was worthy enough to feel that powerful.

The man stepped slightly forward and Bad scrambled more, as he came into view.  
He wore a pink hood (with pig’s ears stitched on), pink hair poking out, and a pink mask with pig nostrils on it. He wore a simple white shirt, a royal coat flapped in the wind as it rested over his shoulders, he had red pants to match. His black boots looked clunky, as if he wasn't afraid to be heard. His eyes gleamed blue, and his crown shone with jewels of green, blue and red.

"Don't worry." The renowned hitman spoke calmly, stepping forward again. "I'm only going to use you as bait."

Bad felt like he was hyperventilating, because he was, he felt his chest compress harshly as he sucked in breaths and barely breathed out long enough to be right, he was shaking, he was petrified.

The "PvP God" knelt down and studied him with his calculating eyes, he glanced into Darryl's eyes and watched how he trembled. "Having trouble breathing, bud?" He torn Bad's mask down, and Bad did nothing to stop him, he just breathed heavier.

He was going to die. He was going to be killed by the best hitman ever. Someone who people cowered at by the mere name, that if challenged would have his victims come back bloodied or not at all. Someone who was so terrifyingly good at combat that he laughed whilst he fought, as if it was a fun pastime for him. Which it probably WAS.

Fingers snapped in front of him, Darryl tried to steady his breath but was struggling.

"In and out," Technoblade laughed mockingly, "In and out."

Darryl took huge gulps of air as he stared at the pig impersonator before he stumbled to say something. "I-I I'm so sorry I crossed you M-Mr T-T-Technoblade! Sir! I-I I swear, I swear I didn't mean to upset you I never, never thought I had-"

"Wow your real voice is way squeakier isn't it?" Techno flicked Darryl's nose, standing up and chuckling. "You think I'm going to kill you, don't you?" He was smirking, Darryl could tell. He nodded harshly and pulled his mask up.

"Like I said, I'm not, I just need you for bait." He shrugged.

"B-Bait? For who?" Bad asked, finding verbal footing after pulling his mask up.

"Skeppy." Techno grinned, Bad went pale. Techno laughed at his reaction, "You know him, right? I ran into him a while ago, kept claiming he could beat me, failed miserably. Couple of days ago I discover he swiped my goddamn sword when he left." He eyes narrowed. "And no one steals from me."

"I can ask him to return it!" Bad squeaked, Techno rose an eyebrow. "I-I mean, surely you don't have to kill him, right?"

Techno put his hands behind his head and leaned back with a sigh, "Okay, I won't kill him, I'll just break a few bones."

Bad swallowed thickly, this was fine, he was a cop, this is just negotiating, he was used to this.

"If I get the sword from him, and give it to you, will you not hurt him?" He asked, the pain in his leg becoming a bit much for him as he talked.

"Do you know where he lives?" Techno asked calmly.

"No." Bad lied quickly.

Techno smirked, an awful and sickly smirk. "You're a shit liar."

"Language!" Bad scolded on instinct, before promptly slapping a hand over his masked mouth as his eyes went wide.

Techno looked stunned for a moment before he burst out laughing, "Yep!" He laughed more. "You're just as 'innocent' as people describe you!" He squatted to Bad's level and sighed. "Shame I'll have to do this, really."

Bad didn't know what he was about to do, but him reaching into his pocket gave him a surge of fear, Bad shoved his hand into his hoodie pocket, grabbed the tranquilizer dart and swung it towards the open neck of Techno.

He shut his eyes tightly as he did so but froze in terror as he felt a grip on his wrist. He peaked open and eye and saw that his hand was firmly grasped by Techno, the dart only millimeters away from his neck, his pink pig mask had slipped down though. He was beaming.

"Ooooh," He faked a wince, "Nice try, badboyhalo." Techno stabbed his own dart into Darryl's neck. Bad felt the effects hit him and started breathing heavily.

"Blood for the blood god and all that, how much do you weight dude? It will be a pain to carry you." Techno was saying, but Bad was losing consciousness. He reached for his earpiece and switched to emergency mode as he patched into Dream.

"D-Dream..." He muttered, hearing through his earpiece the sounds of Dream and someone else talking. He also heard Techno distantly comment, "well you will be dreaming soon."

"Darryl? Darryl this is for emergencies only-" Dream was saying, being cut off by- "Darryl?! Clay you know Darryl?" Hey, that sounded like George.

Bad found himself blinking and glaring at the air as it became fuzzy and hard to grasp. "Dream is your... sugar daddy?" He muttered, before shaking his head to clear his mind.

"What?! George what have you been telling Darryl about me? How do you know him?!"

"Dream, shush, help." He pleaded, noticing that Techno seemed to be prepping some gear a bit away from him.

"What? What's wrong?" George cut in.

Darryl ignored him. "Dream, stabbed, needle, going to sleep. Help me." He briefly explained.

"What?! You were hit with a needle?!" George shouted, Bad winced at the noise.

"Okay Darryl I have your location, but I can't do much from here, do you need me to pick you up and try and make an antidote-"

"No! Technoblade is kidnapping me!" He hissed quietly.

"WHAT?!" George called over the mic.

"What?!" Dream repeated in fear, "Technoblade?! Holy shit!"

"Languaag-" He nodded and felt his head droop.

"I'll, I'll call someone Darryl! I'll get help I swear it, try to stay awake for me! Darryl?!"

Darryl slipped his head to the side, Techno leant over him and heard what sounded like voices, he pulled out the earpiece and held it closely.

"Hello?! Oh my god stay awake!" Dream was pleading.

"Yo." Techno spoke, he heard silence on the other end.

"Technoblade?" George whispered.

"Speaking." Techno chuckled, tying Darryl's wrists together with some rope.

"..." He heard a click and nothing, he crushed the earpiece in his hand and went back to work.

\----

"Dream what the hell is going on?" George yelled.

"Okay. So, we're both friends with Darryl, and right now he is being kidnapped for an unknown reason by the hitman Technoblade." Dream started, keeping out any mention of badboyhalo. "I uh, know how to find his location, master coder and all, soooo I'm going to ask someone I know to get their friend to go there and find him."

"What?! Dream I am a cop!" Oh boy, Dream didn't know that. "I work with Darryl; I can get the police looking for him!" Didn't know that either. And Darryl would be dressed as badboyhalo, so that's a negative.

"George, I love you man, but I have someone much faster that can get to him." He left the call and scampered to call Vurb, who picked up instantly.

"Mhmm?"

"I need to get to Skeppy, right now." Dream explained.

"He's in the call yeah." Vurb mumbled.

"Okay good, hey Skeppy."

"Hey Dream! First time chatting voice to voice, great to hear ya-"

"Badboyhalo has been kidnapped by Technoblade."

\---

Darryl came to, not slowly, but all at once. His eyes snapped open and his head jerked around, memories of what happened flooding in all too quickly. He scanned his surrounding as fast as he could, fearing he'd be killed any second.  
The first thing that caught his eye was his mask, a meter or so from his right foot. The second was the feeling of his wrists being tied together and tied uncomfortably behind his back. He was ready to let out a blood curdling screen but noticed in place of his mask was a tight piece of fabric, so tight he couldn't speak.  
He wanted his mask.  
He scrambled forward, the restraints on his wrists holding him back from grasping the mask, he kicked his foot towards it, reach to pull it back with his heel if he had to.  
Then a boot came down on his foot and he yelled behind his gag, a muffled scream coming out as he immediately pulled away.

The boot came off his own foot as Techno spoke, "So, you're finally awake," He chuckled to himself, "sorry man but that little mask of yours has a tracker on it and I had to deactivate that biz, you know how it is." He shrugged, squatting near Bad as he fiddled with a gun.

Bad felt cold, they were on a rooftop, and the breeze blowing by was not helping. He was tied to some object behind him, maybe another chimney who knows, and he could see a few weapons strewn about the roof.

"Right now, I'm just waiting for either Skeppy to show up or whoever you were talking to in that earpiece, just letting you know if they show up, I will kill them no hesitation." He explained.

Bad shallowed thickly and avoided looking at the pig.

"If no one shows though I might have to take a different route." Techno said grimly. Bad could tell he was looking at him. He didn't want to know what that route was.

\---

Skeppy crawled across the rooftops fearfully, keeping his head low and eyes ahead. The whipping wind was not helping his concentration, he hissed in frustration and crawled closer to the place Dream had said Bad was last tracked from.

This was all his fault. Bad had nothing to do with this but he had gone and gotten him in danger, what if Techno had hurt him? What if he was going to kill him? Why on earth did he take Bad anyway?! He wanted the sword, right?

The sword clung to his back sheath, shaky with each leap and jostling at every landing. He decided it wasn't worth stealing.

Skeppy poked his head up and saw them. Bad was tied to a chimney, he had a gag around his mouth and looked near tears. Skeppy gripped the walls with anger. Techno was squatting, probably talking about something stupid, because he is a stupid idiot. Skeppy took a deep breath and pulled himself up.

"Alright Techno, I'm here! Let bad go." Skeppy demanded, taking a step forward and reveling in how Bad's eyes shone and his lips tilted upward at his appearance. Techno, on the other hand, stood up and pulled out a gun, pointing it at Bad.

"You are in no position to make demands." He smirked, Skeppy took a step back. Techno waved his gun around haphazardly as he spoke, "Now, Bad suggested that you give the sword you stole from me back, and then you both can go home and be happy." He turned and glared at Skeppy.  
"However, as an English major I have read a lot of literature, and no-good development comes from an action that has not gone punished. And you, Skeppy, stole my sword and expect no consequences."

"I thought you kidnapping Bad was a consequence." Skeppy retorted, holding his ground as his fists shook beside him.

Techno tutted, "No, returning him would mean no damage was dealt, no reminder of the crime you committed against me."

"Dude come on! I only took it because I was pissed you beat me so much!" Skeppy whined, posture slumping as he pouted.

"If you wish to defeat me, you must train for another thousand years!" Techno chimed.

Bad started squirming and saying something, but if came out as desperate hums.

"What, bad?" Skeppy asked, Bad looked near pleading as he screamed and squirmed.

Techno groaned and whacked him lightly on the back of the head with the guns handle, Bad murmured some vague noises that sounded like "Sorry, sorry." Before keeping his head down.

Skeppy looked at Techno with anger, "Hey! Don't hit him, he didn't do shit!" He almost laughed when he heard a muffled response, both Techno and Skeppy being aware what it was he said, "Why is he even here?!" Skeppy shouted.

Techno grabbed Bad's face and pointed it at Skeppy. "Well, you see, I have no way to contact you, and I wanted my sword back. Your stealing schedule is really inconsistent, and I was just going to ask Bad, who has a more predictable schedule, where you would be. BUT!" He let Bad's head drop and stood up again, "He streamed, and in that stream, I really got a grasp on the friendship of you two. So, getting him would get your attention. And it worked."

Skeppy gulped and took a step forward, "Okay, so you got my attention, and.." He pulled the sheath off of himself and held it out. "You got your sword." He placed it on the floor and kicked it across to Techno.

Techno rose an eyebrow before leaning down and picking up the sword, unsheathing it and examining the overall quality.

Skeppy never really used weapons, he was a thief after all, but as he saw Techno hold that sword, he felt himself unconsciously grip a small dagger that rested on his hip. It was tinted blue, and only for dire circumstances.

"Listen Skeppy, you still need to pay, so either you fight me and suffer the consequences," He pointed the sword at him with a satisfied grin, "Or your friend does."

Bad's eyes widened in fear and he looked at Skeppy, Skeppy had no idea what Bad was trying to communicate but he shrugged at Techno's words. "Okay, I'll fight you, as long as you don't kill me."

"No promises." Techno chuckled, he took a step around Bad and towards Skeppy, but what neither of them expected was for Bad to whip a leg out and trip Techno blade, who stumbled and caught himself, glaring at Bad with frustration.

Bad glared back, eyes burning with a fury he couldn't express.

"What? What do you want Bad? Everyone knows you can't fight for shit; you get caught in almost all your heists and you don't even keep your winnings. I don't know what you are trying to prove right now, but you're a shit thief, I hope to God you haven't quit your day job." Techno half laughed and half mocked.

Bad kicked his leg again, with more force this time. Skeppy went pale as he saw Techno's expression stay the same, but his grip on his sword’s handle tightened.

"Bad... let me handle this-"

"Okay badboyhalo! If you wanna fight! Let's fight!" Techno held his sword up and swung, aiming for Bad's arm. Bad looked frightful, but determined, and with a lunge he jerked his body just a bit away from the swing, and the sword came crashing down on his arm restraints.

Bad immediately pushed himself slightly upright, leaning on the chimney for support, he tugged at his gag but failed to get it off and instead setting with huffing angrily, arms now free.

Techno looked at him with only slight shock, "Huh, didn't expect that coming from you. But we all make mistakes." He swung the sword into the air and Skeppy ran to intervene, he slipped in front of Bad and held his dagger up, blocking the sword as it came down.

"Chill dude chill oh my god stop!" He yelled, pushing against his blade.

"What is this?! A dagger! Weak!" Techno laughed, pulling his sword back and staring at Bad who slouched behind Skeppy, one leg seemed to be... limp. Techno's eyes lit up.

"Say Bad, you seem to be having trouble standing there?" He pouted and grinned as Bad looked a bit frightened. Skeppy glanced at him as Bad adjusted his posture. "Tell ya what, I'll give you one freebie, you can punch me once, that's it, then Skeppy and I will fight, and I won't hurt you more than I already have."

Bad nodded hastily, hands going into his hoodie pocket, as if to feign false casual confidence. Techno merely laughed, he pushed Skeppy aside and smiled at Bad, knowing full well he had a damaged leg, and probably a more damaged body from the tranquilizer being in his system. He wouldn't be able to do shit to him, as if he could normally though, right?

Bad pulled a fist out of his hoodie and reeled it back, before he swung it into his arm. Techno didn't move, nor flinch, he laughed at the attempt. Skeppy looked embarrassed for Bad as he watched the display.

"Hey!" Bad shouted thorough his gag, voice coming out muffled.

Techno stopped laughing and looked at him with a grin, "What? Want a rematch or something?"

"I didn't quit my day job." Bad's muffled voice said bluntly.

Techno looked at him in confusion, then Bad pulled back his fist and uncurled it, a tranquilizer dart stood in his arm, all the liquid now gone. Techno whipped his head to Bad who pushed him harshly, Techno stumbled back before tripping as Skeppy stuck a foot out, he fell to the floor looking a bit dazed. He pulled himself up slightly and panted.

"Y-You seriously think a little sleeping poison will kick me down for good? I can still completely eradicate you." Techno spat.

Skeppy leaned towards him and grinned, "I'm sure he knows, Technoblade never dies after all." Skeppy swung his dagger at him and was not at all surprised when Techno held up his sword and blocked it, he looked sleepy and out of it, but he was still able to defend himself.

"Bad, we need to get out of here whilst he is sort of weak." Skeppy whispered harshly, he turned to Bad and froze as he saw him swaying uncomfortably, "Bad?" Andddd Bad was collapsing, Skeppy rushed and grabbed him. He cut his gag with his dagger and knew something was wrong when Bad didn't even struggle when a knife came near his face.

"Bad?" Skeppy repeated.

"Thanks, you muffin." He murmured, he looked to his leg numbly. "Do me a favor?" Skeppy nodded at Bad, "Don't ever steal from Technoblade." He scolded, his eyes slipped shut and his head went slightly limp.

"He's right you know, also I think he broke his leg running from me." Techno chuckled.

"What?! You can't just leave that info out!"

"I think I just did."


	7. Chapter 7

Skeppy entered Bad's apartment through his balcony, just like the first and second time he visited. He gently lay him on the couch, he was still passed out and Skeppy was freaking the hell out.

He started pacing.

Okay, he needed to get him to the hospital, but he can't let his identity as badboyhalo be discovered. Two options: disregard his identity in order to protect his wellbeing and make sure he doesn't bleed out or something. Or: Make him look like he is in casual wear and take him to a hospital as soon as possible.

Skeppy decided with option two, seeing as Bad's costume right now only stood out because of his hood, looping belt and mask. Without those items, he looked like a dude in a black shirt with black and red pants. He pulled off his hoodie and mask carefully, checking his pulse and letting out a sigh of relief to know he really was in a stable-ish state. Skeppy was just about ready to pull off his own hoodie and mask so he looked like a regular dude when there was a loud knock on the door.

"Darryl?! Darryl! The lights on I know someone is there!" Skeppy recognized the voice, George, the cop friend.

He started to step back in fear, but just then the door was broken down with a sharp push of a shoulder, and a man with scruffy black hair and a young face stood with a gun pointed into the apartment.

"Freeze, police!" His words caught in his throat as he spotted Darryl, he ran over quickly. "Darryl? Darryl! Can you hear me?" He asked, examining his body.

Skeppy kicked his hoodie and mask onto the open balcony with his foot.

George glared at Skeppy with anger. "What did you do?"

Skeppy held up his hands quickly, "Hey don't shoot the messenger! I just got your friend out of a tricky situation!"

George paled, "Technoblade did this to him, you were the person Dream sent to help him?"

Skeppy felt the cogs in his brain seize up in confusion, okay so he knew Technoblade kidnapped him, knew who Dream was, but didn't know Darryl was badboyhalo?

"...Yes."

George looked in peril and pulled out a walkie talkie off his belt. "Darryl is unconscious and bleeding. His right leg looks to be wounded. Please send an ambulance to his address immediately." He clicked it off and looked at Skeppy with fiery eyes.

"Zak."

Okay... so that's something else this guy knew.

"Come again?" Skeppy asked with a chuckle.

"I know you have to be Zak; I don't know why you have taken an interest in Darryl. But if you interfere in his life, for a reason that isn't because he was going to die, then I will not hold back and I will arrest you. I have the evidence to end you." George sighed and collected himself. "But because you saved my friend from a hitman, I will let you go this once. As long as you stay away."

Skeppy blinked owlishly before nodding. "Roger, roger, officer." He glanced at Darryl and lightly patted his shoulder. "Bye, Darryl." He ran onto the balcony, sneakily sweeping up Bad's disguise, and leapt off into the night. Sparing a glance as he saw the ambulance arrive at Bad's house. He could hear his dog barking, awoken from the pup’s peaceful slumber.

\---

Bad came to slowly, body sluggish and eyes heavy. He felt groggy and uncomfortable, and made it known by groaning and peeling open his eyes, the, overly bright lights making him wince.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

He slowly tilted his head and saw George staring at him with baggy eyes. Darryl let out a noise of confusion, George held out a glass of water which Darryl drank hungrily.

"I'm in the middle of a convo with my friend Dream, when you join the call unannounced, say you have been struck with a needle and are being kidnapped by technoblade. Do you know how terrifying that is? What's worse is dream left the call, I was alone with no idea where you were or how to help you and was freaking out!" His voice escalates in volume and Darryl winces.  
"Sorry, sorry. It was... a lot okay? Then I found Skeppy leaning over your bloodied body in your apartment, and realize dream sent SKEPPY to save you."

Darryl nodded, the memories coming back to him in shards, George looked baffled by his acceptance of the bizarre truth.

"So anyway, Zak is clearly Skeppy, Dream didn't trust me to save you and instead trusted the person we have been hunting down for weeks and, you know something? I have a hunch you know damn well that Zak, our number one suspect, is Skeppy and just didn't want to tell me." George was glaring now.

Darryl felt confused and floaty, the grogginess making him stare at George in a dazed state. "Yeah?" He mumbled.

"Yeah?! Yeah?!? You lied to me! You said you'd never be caught dead talking to that guy when security footage caught you leaving his house- IN HIS CLOTHES MIND YOU- and you don't think that's alarming?! You're withholding evidence! Y-You could be fired for hanging around a criminal!" George shouted.

Darryl, drugged-out, in a hospital Darryl, shrugged his shoulders. "He's not so bad once you get to know him."

George felt his eye twitch. "He. Is. A. Criminal." He spoke slowly, "He. Is. Breaking. The law."

"Downloading music from YouTube is breaking the law George, we gotta make exceptions." Darryl mumbled.

"He is a renowned thief!!! Why did technoblade even kidnap you?!" George pulled at his hair in frustration.

"Cause he needed bait for Skeppy." Darryl recalled with a short nod.

"S-So he is aware you have a relation to Skeppy?! Darryl if big criminals know of you then, well you could be killed and kidnapped more often!" George squealed.

Darryl chuckled and rolled over with a yawn, "Nah, they want badboyhalo not Darryl, and I'm not gonna go badboyhalo-ing for at least a few weeks due to this leg injury." He snuggled in the covers, unaware of his shellshocked friend’s panic.

"B-Bad...boy...halo?" He gripped at his hair tighter.

"Yeah?" Darryl yawned, eyes shutting.

George looked at him in shock, but before he could scream, Darryl was snoring.  
He stared at his sleeping figure for a few moments before grabbing a pillow and screaming into it.

"This is... not possible. It does not make sense..." He muttered with fear.

"Nah, it totally does when you meet him during a heist, acts just the same, says muffin constantly."

George turned and stared into the eyes of Zak Carder, who leant against the closed hospital door.

"How did you get in here." He demanded. Zak nodded to a window, it was open, and the curtains blew softly in the breeze. George looked to Darryl and back to Zak. "This is why you have grown an attachment, you both are... robbers."

Zak chuckled, "Nah, Bad returns whatever he steals, claims he only 'borrows'" he air quotes, he strides towards him and sighs at his sleeping face. "I'm the real bad guy here, he at least tries to be kind about what he does."

"How long have you known that he is... badboyhalo." George whispered his alter ego; afraid the world would shatter at the reveal.

Zak tapped his foot and clicked his tongue. "Uhh, since he interrogated me at that one museum robbery? He said muffin and oh my goodness which gave it away. So, I broke into his house to confirm."

George looked at Zak with horror. "I... I cannot let you guys continue, I have to arrest you, I literally would be fired from withholding information."

"Does it help to know your friend Dream is Badboyhalo’s tech guy?" Zak muttered calmly.

George threw himself upright, face red. "WHAT?!"

-

Darryl was terrified when he came to a second time and was told he could go home as long as he used crutches and took some time off work. That wasn't what terrified him, it was the look of incredible anger on George's face and the fact he was chatting with Zak as the nurse cleared Darryl.

As Darryl got used to the crutches, he slowly approached the pair, "Uh, hello?" He started, looking worriedly between the two.

"I can't fucking believe you Darryl!" George hissed, and Darryl gasped.

"Language! What did I even do?!"

"You told him you're badboyhalo. He knows I'm Skeppy." Zak filled him in, and Darryl went pale.

"I did what?" He whispered

"What do you expect me to do Darryl?! I can't not arrest you! I-I'd have to arrest my best friend Dream too! Oh my god..." George gripped his mouth and froze as his phone rang, he pulled it up and took a deep breath. "It's Dream."

With the phone to his ear, he spoke calmly, "Hey Dream."

"Hey! I'm going to blackmail you!" His cheerful voice responded.

Darryl and Skeppy looked at the phone, then each other, in confusion.

"W-What, Clay?" George asked quietly.

"I'm going to release your personal information if you don't keep the information you learned today a secret! Problem solved! Now you have a reason for not telling others!" Dream chortled.

"How did you even know what we have discussed-" George begun before being cut off, "Hacker, remember? I'm good with tech. Lucky I am or else there would have been proof of Bad's little slip-up. Though I hope this doesn't effect our friendship George."

George dragged a hand over his face, "You know what? Darryl, Zak, I'll talk to you guys later, I'm sure you can take it from here." He stomped out of the hospital, phone in hand, leaving Zak and Darryl alone.

They stood in silence before Darryl broke it, "Thanks for saving me." He begun, calmly, starting to shakily guide himself out of the hospital.

"It was nothing, my fault for angering the pig, at least that's over." He walked beside Darryl, feeling guilt at every step he took with the crutch.

"I might need your help getting into my apartment..." Darryl murmured, blushing in embarrassment. "I've only got stairs..."

Zak's brain processed the pain of that and immediately rejected that idea. "Stay with me while you heal, I've got an elevator."

Darryl almost tripped at the offer and looked at Zak wildly before letting out a noise of surprise, "I uh, I've got a dog..."

"I'll swing by and bring them over, I'm sure they'd get along with my dog Rocco." Zak waved his hand, knowing this was just an opening for Zak to backtrack on his offer.

"Well, um... alright, is your couch comfy?" Darryl asked quietly as they exited the building.

"No, but my guest bedroom is very nice." He smirked at Darryl.

"How do you afford... oh. Right." His expression went to unimpressed and he rolled his eyes.

Zak laughed and pulled out his phone for an uber, he watched as Daryl shuffled awkwardly as he did so. "You good dude?"

Darryl's head snapped up quickly, "Hmm? Oh, yeah, fine just... a bit out of it. Also probably going to be thrown in prison for my crimes by my friend George, but, hey, I'm sure Dream has some way of convincing him..." He went to bite his nails nervously but struggled to stay balanced with his crutches, Zak held onto his arm and smiled warmly.

"It'll all work out dude, just take it easy for now."


	8. Chapter 8

As Darryl sat in Skeppy's apartment awaiting the arrival of his dog, which Skeppy had kindly gone to retrieve, he couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten here.  
How was he in what once was his most hated enemies’ apartment, someone who he has always disagreed with and always rolled his eyes at. How? Honestly, he supposed it was his fault for ever saying hello when he first met him.

\---

"Did you hear about the new guy?" Dream muttered; a chip filled mouth softened his words.

"What new guy?" Bad asked, scratching his chin as he observed the art exhibit that was currently on, wondering what would be worth taking and betting on.

"He's been around for a while but only just started soaring in popularity, his name is Skeppy, blue guy? His gimmick is stealing gemstones, mostly diamonds. He's also known for being crazy loud during robberies for fun."

"Sounds inexperienced." Bad carefully disabled an alarm surrounding an art case and pulled the painting out, slinging it under his arm and walking away smoothly.

"Quite the opposite, he apparently has been around for ages but was sick of people not noticing him, he's loud because he can pull it off without being caught."

"Wow, that's pretty cool actually! Come to think of it, I think I have heard of him before... maybe I saw a paper of him."

"Odds are that's true, he's been making headlines recently. To your left." Dream directed him, Bad sharply turned against a wall and watched a night guard walk past, yawning. "Clear." Bad kept on his path.

"Well, while I don't condone stealing without reason, he sounds like an adrenaline junkie. Which isn't too bad."

"Oh, trust me, he sells everything he steals, also I don't think 'I steal to gamble' is a good reason." Dream chuckled.

Bad rolled his eyes, "Oh hush you-" And he froze, across from the hall he was going to exit through, was someone examining something in the gemstone section. Odd. "Hey Dream, did you say Skeppy’s gimmick was stealing gemstones..." He gently slipped the small art piece into a vent near him to retrieve later and crept forward, watching with fascination.

"Yeah. Wait, don't tell me, is he there?"

Bad nodded and didn't bother to even consider that Dream would not see him nod unless he kept watch on the security cams. Skeppy was wearing a blue hoodie and jeans with cute pictures of diamond gems printed on the knees. He had his hood up and a blue mask on, that didn't stop him from being obvious though. Despite his stealthy disguise (ignoring the baby blue color) he stood firm with no intention of hiding himself. He browsed the gems loudly, boots clinking on the floor and eyes never checking for danger.

Bad glared at the carelessness of this thief, taking it upon himself to sneak up nearby, prove to him how easy it would be to get him arrested... He was right behind him when his head snapped to look at him, Bad froze in surprise as brown eyes locked with his green eyes.

Bad felt his words get caught in his throat and let out a very weak, "Hello."

Skeppy looked him up and down, somehow coming off as intimidating despite being the slightly shorter one of the pair. He met his eyes again and tilted his head, he seemed to smile. "Hi Badboyhalo."

Skeppy turned back to the gems and continued surveying them until he saw a diamond, he turned to Bad with a grin that jutted out from beneath his mask. "Come on." He slammed his fist against the glass, and it shattered, "Cops will be here soon." He snatched the diamond and laughed a loud and obnoxious giggle as he ran away from Bad, alarms ringing throughout the museum.

In that moment, Bad decided he hated Skeppy and all he stood for.

\---

If he had never said hello, never decided to sneak up on him, this would never had happened. Darryl nodded to himself, crossing his arms and pouting. A small bark made him perk up and beam as Zak kicked open his door, a dog under an arm and a bag of dog supplies under the other.

"Guess who's hereeee!" Skeppy grinned, Darryl instantly beckoned Lucy and cuddled her senselessly as he pulled her onto his lap with joy.

"Who's a good muffin?! You are! You are! Yes, you are my precious little girl!" Darryl cooed lovingly, letting Lucy lick wildly at his face as she wagged her tail happily.

Skeppy flopped himself next to bad with a sigh, "Cute dog." He commented, arm stretching and landing on Darryl's shoulder. Darryl glanced at Skeppy, cheeks warming up and eyes narrowing in confusion.

Skeppy laughed at his expression, "What! I'm a thief, I'm all about touching fine art." He smirked boldly.

Darryl looked at him blankly for a few seconds before it clicked and he went bright red, shoving his face into his dog’s furs with a groan. Skeppy laughed more beside him.

Guess there was one thing bad stole and never returned, Skeppy's heart.

He peeked up at Skeppy, watching how his eyes crinkled as he chuckled. Darryl smiled, warm with affection. If Bad stole Skeppy's heart, what's a little harm in stealing one more thing?

Darryl sat up again, and reached over, cupping Skeppy's jaw, he froze mid-laugh and looked at him in surprise. Darryl leaned forward with a cheeky smile on his lips, and stole a kiss.


End file.
